Fire-poker and clinker-picker.



F. BINN. I FIRE POKER AND CLINKEH P|CKER..

APPLICATION FILED APR. 4.19M-

Patented Jan. 29, 1918.

avwemtoi FRBNKUNB|NN I pee FRANKLIN BINN, 0F TRENTON, NEW JERSEY.

FIRE-POKER AND CLINKER-PICKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 29, 1918.

Application filed April 4, 1917. Serial No. 159,838.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN BINN, a citizen of the llnited States, residing at Trenton, in the county of Mercer and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l ire-Pokersand (linker-Pickers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to pokers, and. the general object of the invention is to provide a poker so constructed that it may be used. not only for the ordinary purpose for which a poker is used, but may also he used for picking out clii'ikcrs, or any other objects which may accidentally toll on a bed of coals.

A further object of the invention is to provide a combined poker and clinker picker, including members slidably connect-- ed to each other and having coacting jaws, the spring urging the jaws to a closed posi tion, and means whereby the jaws may be moved bodily away from each other to open them, so that they may grasp an object.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accornpanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a. side elevation of my 1111-- provcd poker, the tubular inernher being in section;

Fig. 2 is alike view of a. modified form of my invention;

Fig. 3 is a like view of another modified form Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 4--4' of Fig. 1. 7 Referringto these figures, and more particularly to Fig. 1,.10 designates the shank of a poker, which is singularly bent at one end as at 11 to form a jaw, the inner face of this jaw being serrated or otherwise formed to form a rough surface. Attached to and slidably mounted thereon. is a sleeve 12 which, at one end, carries a jaw 13 coacting. with the jaw 11. and also having its face roughened, corrugated or serrated. Preferably the jaw 11 will have a concave inner face and theconfronting, face of the jaw .13 will also he concave. Resting upon the sleeve 12 is a washer 14 and surrounding the rod or shank 10 is a coil spring 15, which bears upon the washer 14 at one end and at the other end bears upon a collar 16 formed upon or attached to the shank 10.

The operation of this form of my invention will be obvious. The spring 15 will normally hold the jaws in closed position and, under these circumstances, the poker may be used as an ordinary poker, the jaws 11 and 13 tapering to a point to this end. hen it is desired to pick up a clinker or other object, it is only necessary to grasp the shank 10 with one hand, the sleeve 12 withthe other hand, and draw the sleeve upward.

against the force of the spring 13 and then engage the object to he picked up between.

the jaw ll and 1 and release the sleeve.

For the purpose oi readily shifting the projccti handle 17'.

In F1 show another form of the invention, which operates on precisely the same principle as the form previously described, but which is particularly adapted to he used in large furnaces where the pokers or stoking irons are relatively long.

In this case the poker proper comprises the.

shank 10 and the jaw 11, the shank 10 being provided with the collar 16. Slidably mounted upon the shank 10 is a relatively shortsleevc 12 and connected to this sleeve is a longitudinally extending shank 18, constituting a handle, this shank being as long as the shank 10. The spring 15 surrounds the shank 10 and bears against the sleeve and urges the jaw 13 toward the jaw 11'.

Under some circumstances, it is desirable to inclose the spring 15 within the sleeve 12 and such a. construction is illustrated in Fig. 3. In this form of the device the spring is a contractile spring, but otherwise than this and the positioning of the spring, there is no dificrence between this construction and that'shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and thereand turning it up to the full line position,

the jaws will be caused to open. The handle 17 in Fig. 3 is shown as rigidly mounted upon the tubular member 12.

Preferably I form thejaws 11 and 13 o I 11 and l3 angular in cross section, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the upper jaw being sufficiently larger than the lower jaw as to fit down over the lower jaw when the jaws are in their closed positions, the interior faces of one or both aws being toothed and the lower jaw being reversely angular relative to the upper jaw, so that when the lower jaw is closed against the upper jaw, it will, fit closely within the upper jaw, thus making the jaws sufficiently narrow, when the jaws are closed, that they may be used as a poker. It will, however, be understood that these jaws might be made fiat on their'inside faces, or the jaws need not be tapered. Ihe device can be used not only as a pokepand for the purpose of icking-up clinkers, but can be used for pic ing up all sorts of articles that fall into places where it'is diflicult for the hand to be inserted.- It will be seen that the lever-like handle permits a stron er spring to he used than would otherwise e possible so that the device ma be used for icking up relatively heavy articles, but yet e easily operated by a relatively weak person. The device is designed for the purpose of poking furnace fires, etc., and can be made to open 6 or 8 inches and thus engage the largest size of clinkcrs.

' It willbe obvious that my device is very convenient, that it may be easily handled and cheaply constructed, and that while it performs all of the functions of an ordinary poker, yet itrmay be used for shifting lumps of coal over the fire bed, so as to bring the lumps over particular portions of the 'fir'e, and; that it may be used to remove lar jaW;at one end, a sleeve slidably mounted on the shank for longitudinal movement and having a jaw coacting. with the first named jaw, a handle having a curved portion extending through a slot in the sleeve and pivoted to the shank, and a spring urging the sleeve and shank in opposite directions and the jaws toward each other, a rotative movement of the handle in a position parallel with the sleeve acting to shift the shank and sleeve to a position Where the aws are open.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my 4 signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

FRANKLIN BINN.

Witnesses:

ANNA MoDnnMoi'r, JAMES H. APPLEGATE. 

